DE 197 53 147 A1 discloses a dispenser for the discharge, particularly the atomizing of media, particularly liquid medicaments, which delivers a medicament charge in one or optionally a few strokes. Operation takes place between the fingers of the user, the thumb pressing an operating trigger or presser in the operating and discharge direction.
EP-B-311 863 describes a discharge device in which a pump cylinder and a resilient stop constructed in the manner of a snap locking means cooperate in such a way that prior to the performance of a partial stroke a specific operating pressure must be applied by the operator, so that after overcoming this pressure point the liquid is discharged with a specific minimum force and speed. This construction ensures that e.g. on atomizing the medium, from the outset an adequate atomizing pressure is present and that the pump is operated up to the end of its stroke and consequently delivers in one or two strokes the total content of the medium reservoir, which simultaneously forms the pump cylinder. Such single or multiple dosing means are important for the delivery of medicaments, which are particularly critical with respect to dosage, contamination, preserving or other criteria.
The problem of the invention is to construct such dispensers in such a way that they are on the one hand secured against accidental operation and on the other have a minimum package or storage volume.
This problem is solved in that prior to each stroke the operating presser must be brought from an operating end position into the operating starting position.
Due to the fact that the operating presser is initially in its operating end position, an accidental operation of said operating presser is impossible. Simultaneously the packing space of the dispenser is reduced by the length of an operating stroke of the operating presser.
Particular preference is given to dispensers, which have a casing with a gripping surface shaped thereon for supporting at least one finger and with a discharge opening, the operating presser being guided in relatively movable manner with respect to the gripping surface in the casing.
Advantageously the relative movement between the operating presser and the casing is a linear movement.
It is also advantageous if the operating end position is fixed by a first stop limiting the stroke movement of the operating presser.
It is also advantageous if the operating starting position of the stroke movement is fixed by a second stop limiting the movement direction opposite to the stroke movement.
It is particularly advantageous to provide such dispensers with a discharge device comprising a thrust piston pump, whose pump cylinder is the reservoir for the medium to be discharged and according to an advantageous further development the pump cylinder comprises a cylindrical glass ampoule, which is placed in a sleeve.
The advantageous further developments of the invention relate to the catch acting between the pump cylinder and the casing and the drag mechanism acting between the operating presser and the pump cylinder, so as to prevent an undesired movement of the pump cylinder in a direction opposite to the stroke movement or during a pump stroke.
The movement of the operating presser from the operating end position into the operating starting position takes place, in a first embodiment, by manual action. The movement of the operating presser from the operating end position into the operating starting position takes place, in a second embodiment, as a result of a force reservoir or accumulator, which is preferably kept pretensioned in the operating end position, the pretensioned holding position being releasable by the operation of a release member and in this way the operating presser is moved from the operating end position into the operating starting position.
These and further features can be gathered from the claims, description and drawings and the individual features, either singly or in the form of sub-combinations, can be implemented in an embodiment of the invention and in other fields and can represent advantageous, independently protectable constructions for which protection is hereby claimed. The subdivision of the application into individual sections and the subtitles in no way restrict the general validity of the statements made thereunder.